Real-world effectiveness and safety of esketamine intranasal spray combined with treatment-as-usual in psychiatric inpatients
European Psychiatry August 27, 2024 E. Kavakbasi, M. Yilmaz, Ö. Bulut et al.
In a retrospective chart review of 76 inpatients with treatment-resistant depression at a German university hospital, a series of esketamine nasal spray sessions (average 10.9) combined with usual care led to large reductions in depression severity and suicidal ideation. Scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) dropped by an average of 10.1 points, and Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) scores fell by 10.0 points; suicidal ideation, measured by MADRS item 10, decreased by 0.9 points. All changes were statistically significant with large effect sizes. Treatment was generally well tolerated, though 5.3% of patients discontinued early due to dissociation.